Railroad-rail joint.



No. 722,457. PATENTED MAR. 10, 1903. R. RUNOLFSON & E. JOHNSON.

3.0. JOHNSON, ADMINISTRATOR or n. JOHNSON, own.

RAILROAD RAIL JOINT.

no MODEL. APPLICATION rnnnun. 29. 1901. RENEWED we. 7, 1902.

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UNITED STATES ATENT RUNOLFUR RUNOLFSON AND EYSTEINN JOHNSON, OF SPANISH FORK, UTAH; JOHN G. JOHNSON ADMINISTRATOR OF SAID EYSTEINN JOHN- SON, DECEASED.

RAILROAD-RAIL JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 722,457, dated March 10, 1903. Application filed April 29,1901. Renewed August 7, 1902. Serial No. 118,768. (NomOdeL) To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, RUNOLFUR RUNOLF- SON and EYSTEINN JOHNSON, citizens of the United States, residing at Spanish Fork, county of Utah, and State of Utah, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Railroad-Rail Joints, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to a new and useful improvement in joints for railroad-rails, and has for its object to so construct railway-rails as to' provide for the interlocking of their ends in such manner as to produce a perfect joint and prevent the forcing down of the end of one rail in advance of the end of the abutting rail, thus avoiding the hammering which has heretofore existed, thereby increasing the life of the rail and lessening the wear and tear upon the rolling-stock.

With these ends in view this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of elements, hereinafter set forth and then specifically designated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains may understand how to make and use the same, theconstruction and operation will now be described in detail, referring to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a perspective of the abutting ends of two rails, each being partly sectioned away, so as to illustrate the construction thereof; Fig. 2, a side elevation of the rails when joined together. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the joint between two rails, a portion of the head and web of the rail being broken away, so as to form a horizontal section upon the line ofthe bolts.

In carrying out our invention as here embodied, A represents the end of one of the rails, and B the end of the abutting rail, and the former has a slot 0, cut through the head, while the web D is reduced to half its thickness immediately beneath this slot, leaving a shoulder or ledge on the upper edge thereof,

and the foot or base of the rail is also slotted, as indicated at E. The head and foot of the opposite rail B is reduced in thickness, so as to form the tongues F and G, which are adapted to pass into the slots O and E, re-

spectively, while the Web of this rail B is reduced to half its thickness upon the reversed side from the web of the rail A, thereby matching the last-named web in such manner as to make an overlapping joint, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, it being seen by reference to Fig. 1 that shoulders H are formed between the head and foot of the rail and the web, so that when interlocking with the opposite web the rails can have no independent vertical movement, thus compelling them to rise and fall in unison when a train passes thereover. The two rails are secured together by the bolts I, which pass through the thinned portion of the webs, as clearly shown in Fig. 8, this avoiding the necessity of using fish-plates in joining the rails, as has heretofore been customary.

In use our improved rails form virtually a continuous rail, over which the rolling-stock may pass with no jar or hammering, since the interlocking of the tread of the rails forms an unbroken line for supporting the Wheels.

The construction which we have here shown permits of ready manufacture, since the tread and foot of the rail may be slotted and thereafter the web reduced in thickness, or the web maybe reduced in thickness during the process of rolling the rail and thereafter the tread and foot slotted. The end of the opposite rail has only to be reduced in thickness, as shown, which will be done either by rolling or milling.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new and useful is 1. A rail-joint formed by the end of one rail having its tread and foot slotted and its web reduced in thickness, the end of the opposite rail being reduced in thickness to interlock with the first-named rail, as specified.

2. In combination, two abutting rails, one having its tread and foot slotted and its web reduced in thickness, the other having its fixed our signatures in the presenceof two head and foot reduced in thickness so as to subscribing Witnesses. fit within the slots of the first-named rail, and its web also reduced in thickness to overlap 5 with the web of the other rail, and bolts passed a through the reduced webs for securing the Witnesses:

rails together, as specified. FRANCIS M. SNELL, In testimony whereof we have hereunto af- WILLIAM J. JAMES. 

